Crypto is starting to look less like a bear market and more like a market trying to prove it has bottomed.

The Fear & Greed Index is at 81 — Extreme Greed.

That’s bullish on the surface, but it also tells us something important: sentiment has recovered much faster than the broader market structure.

Total crypto market cap is now around $2.66T, up more than 20% in the last 7 days, while Bitcoin has recovered into the high-$70Ks.

But confirmation is still missing.

BTC needs a sustained weekly reclaim of the $82K–$82.5K zone, around its 50-week moving average. Until that happens, this is still a recovery attempting to become a new trend.

There’s another interesting divergence:

Bitcoin dominance: ~59.6%
Altcoin Season Index: 39

Capital is still heavily concentrated in BTC.

Meanwhile, crypto open interest has surged to roughly $459B, up 23% in 30 days, with positive funding.

Translation:

The market is getting bullish again, but leverage is getting bullish too.

That creates fuel for another leg higher — but also makes the market vulnerable to a sharp flush if BTC gets rejected at resistance.

The most interesting part isn't the 81 Fear & Greed reading.

It's whether price can turn that extreme optimism into sustained demand.

If BTC reclaims $82K+ on a weekly basis, ETF inflows continue, and ETH/altcoins start participating, the argument for a new bull phase gets much stronger.

Until then:

Bullish recovery ≠ confirmed bull market.

The market is close to proving it.

#Bitcoin #Crypto